The City of Owensboro has launched a new website that officials say features a modern design, improved mobile functionality, and a variety of new tools aimed at making City services more accessible to residents.
Communications and Marketing Manager Shaelie Velez highlighted the improvements and user-friendly features that are available at the updated owensboro.org.
“We started this process about two and a half years ago by asking, ‘What are we missing? What could we do better?’” Velez said. “I’m so excited to finally be at the point where we’ve launched the new site.”
The City partnered with Revize, a company specializing in municipal websites. One of the most visually striking updates is a video header on the homepage, offering a dynamic look at the city that better represents Owensboro than a single static image, Velez said.
Another new addition is an alert box that can be used to share important updates, including leaf collection zones, emergency notices, or other timely messages.
“We’ve really focused on making communication more effective,” Velez said.
The City also analyzed which pages residents visit most often on the current site, using that data to determine which links and tools to highlight on the homepage. She said popular items like sanitation information, event calendars, and City department contacts are now easier to find.
One of the standout features is a revamped calendar system. Residents can view upcoming events and meetings and sort them by category to quickly find what they’re looking for.
Additionally, Revize created three “sub-sites” for the Fire Department, Police Department, and Public Works — each with its own navigation, branding, and content layout, while still remaining under the main site.
“These departments have so much content that we didn’t want their information buried inside the main site,” Velez said. “Now it feels like they each have their own website.”
The Police Department’s page, for example, includes a dedicated news section and the ability to post public service announcements (PSAs), while the Fire Department and Public Works have similar layouts customized to their needs. A newly designed site for Owensboro Parks and Recreation was also created separately due to the volume of content it required.
“The Parks Department has so many facilities, leagues, and registrations. We wanted families to be able to easily find things like how to sign up for T-ball or rent the Dugan Best Recreation Center,” Velez said.
The City’s new E-Notify system allows residents to sign up for email or text alerts on specific topics — such as news updates, police announcements, or public works notices. That feature, Velez said, is especially useful in today’s fast-paced, digital world.
“If we post a news story, we can immediately text a link to anyone who has signed up for that category,” she said. “It’s also a great tool in emergency situations.”
Velez added that one of the most critical updates is the new site’s mobile responsiveness. She noted that about 80% of users access City information on their phones, and the redesigned site is optimized for mobile use.
“Everything is easily accessible on a phone now, which is absolutely essential,” she said.
The City will now gather feedback to continue improving the user experience. Velez said they plan to have people test tasks such as finding a registration page or application form to identify areas that may need to be reorganized.
“We’re excited to launch this, but also to learn from the community about how we can make it even better,” she said. “And I want to thank every City department that helped make this possible. From firefighters to public works employees, so many people had a hand in this.”
